By J. Rafisura —Senior Deacon
On October 24, I had the opportunity to sit as Master in the East for the very first time. Over the past months the officers have been practicing our advanced roles, laboring under the guidance of our Master and Officers Coach. Thanks to their patience and wisdom, we were finally able to perform a quality degree for Bro. Ted Rucker. Despite a few hiccups during the initiation (as most initiations do have), I’d like to think that Bro. Ted had some precious takeaways during the ceremony.
For me, it was a wonderful and fulfilling experience being able to impart those key Masonic lessons and values. Often we may take for granted the principal tenets of freemasonry – Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. Looking a few months back as I was preparing for the degree work, I now realize that I was actually learning a lot more in the process. As I studied the deeper meaning of those Masonic philosophies I began to learn to “connect the dots”. Truly, the more you impart knowledge, the more wisdom you gain. With this in mind, I look forward to having other similar experiences to the one I enjoyed that evening.
It is indeed an honor to be a part of this wonderful brotherhood. The support and encouragement that you receive from the brethren are enough to fuel you up for any challenge, whether it be memory-work or otherwise. Also this evening Bro. Tramaine Ellison did a wonderful job on his proficiency under the guidance of Wor. Ron Katz. All these things we do for the love of this ancient and honorable craft.
Masonry provides a set of moral guidelines to live by. To be able to absorb and maximize all that there is to learn, I realized that going through the three degrees as an officer and internalizing their meaning through repetitive listening and reading is the best ways to jumpstart one’s masonic education. As we work through all these valuable lessons, the dots will begin to connect, not only of the symbolic story that we portray in each degree but also the dots connecting our masonic rituals to our daily lives and actions. Only then do we realize that Masonry is not just rituals and ceremonies, but that it is a implement to enable us to both learn and spread Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth - those truly Masonic virtues which are so essentially necessary to obtaining admission into that Celestial Lodge above.
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